Bus Drivers, Transit and Intercity in Colorado
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$50,744
after federal, FICA and Colorado tax
Tax takes
$12,266
19.5% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$50,053
Colorado costs more than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Colorado — roughly, since only five points along the band are published.
One filer, standard deduction, no dependants and nothing paid in before tax — the same household the rest of this page uses, so the comparison holds. City and school-district income taxes are not included.
Median here
$63,010
Kept after tax
$50,744
Worth in national money
$50,053
State rank
10
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Pay for this job is strong here. Colorado's middle earner gets $63,010, putting the state 10 of 51 — about 6.71% ahead of the national figure.
- Against other work in Colorado, this sits in the middle: 246 of 491 occupations with published pay. Solidly ordinary for the state, which is not the same as ordinary nationally.
- No great distortion either way. Colorado costs about what the country costs, so from $63,010, take-home of $50,744 is worth roughly $50,053 in national money. The average lands at $61,830, below the middle of the range.
- For bus drivers, transit and intercity, Colorado sits in the upper band nationally: a median of $63,010, ranking 10 of 51 and running about 6.71% above the national midpoint. Nominal advantage of this size is usually, though not always, large enough to survive the state's own tax and price levels.
- Bus drivers, transit and intercity ranks 246 of 491 occupations in Colorado by median pay, in the middle bands. Within-state and national positions are separate measurements and a job commonly sits in different quartiles on each.
- Price parity in Colorado is near the national base, so for bus drivers, transit and intercity, whose median is $63,010, the adjusted figure of $50,053 differs little from $50,744 retained after tax. The state's position for this occupation is therefore set by wage and tax rather than by living costs. At $61,830 the mean undershoots the median, an inversion of the usual skew.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Bus Drivers, Transit and Intercity
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $50,870 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $63,010 |
| Top tenth earn over | $71,090 |
| This salary | $63,010 |
Positions between the published tenth, quarter, half, three-quarter and ninetieth points are estimated by straight line.
The same pay, somewhere else
The state median for this job
| Take-home in Colorado | $50,744 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $52,809 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$4,291 |
State income tax and state price levels only. No city income tax, and no housing market.
What you would need there
The state median for this job
| To match take-home only | $60,441 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$5,190 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 101 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- A median is the middle, not an offer. Half of bus drivers, transit and intercity in Colorado earn under $63,010 and half over. The published range runs $50,870 at the tenth percentile to $71,090 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- That $50,744 take-home in Colorado comes from $63,010. It is the no-frills case: single filer, standard deduction, nothing set aside before tax. Real circumstances almost always reduce the tax. City and school-district taxes are not counted at all. Locally the work ranks 246 of 491.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $50,053 uses one figure for the whole of Colorado. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 491 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 246.
- Figures are distribution medians for bus drivers, transit and intercity in Colorado, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $50,870 to $71,090; within-state dispersion of that width routinely exceeds the dispersion between states, so tenure, employer and metropolitan area predict an individual's pay better than geography does.
- Retained pay of $50,744, from $63,010, assumes a single Colorado filer with the standard deduction and no elective deferrals. Pre-tax retirement or HSA contributions, dependants and itemized deductions all reduce it further; local income taxes, excluded here, would increase it in the states that levy them. This occupation ranks 246 of 491 locally, and the state ranks 10 of 51 for it.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $50,053, worked from $63,010, deflates by a statewide parity that conceals substantial intra-state variation, concentrated in housing — so it supports comparison between states rather than the pricing of a move to a particular Colorado address, on work sitting at 246 of 491 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $50,870 at the bottom tenth to $71,090 at the top, pay for this work clusters rather than spreads.
Does a bigger number here mean I am better off?
Not on its own. Prices in Colorado run above the national level, so the same dollars buy less here. Adjusted for that, this pay is worth $50,053 — the wage did not change, only what it covers.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Four deductions, stacked. The federal layer and the two payroll taxes apply wherever you work; Colorado then takes its own share, leaving $50,744.
Can I compare this job across every state?
All 51 jurisdictions report this work, which makes the ranking a like-for-like one.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($50,870 to $71,090) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Colorado rather than a national figure.
How does the state price level affect real compensation?
Colorado's regional price parity sits above the national average, so nominal wages overstate purchasing power. Deflating take-home by the state price level gives $50,053 in national-average terms. ⚠️ RPPs are an all-items index; housing parities vary far more widely than the headline figure.
What accounts for the gap between gross wage and take-home here?
Take-home of $50,744 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Colorado income tax for a single filer with no adjustments. The state layer is levied in addition to the federal one; only its rate and base differ between states.
Is this occupation's state coverage complete?
State-level estimates are published for all 51 jurisdictions for this occupation, so cross-state comparison is not confounded by suppression. ⚠️ Estimates remain survey-based and carry sampling error; small differences between adjacent states should not be over-read.